By Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson's Web Spin. Fast takes on the five most viewed Tribune stories last week on the paper's Web site. Find them quickly at chicagotribune.com/most.

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August 31, 2008

Fast takes on the five most viewed Tribune stories last week on the paper's Web site. Find them quickly atchicagotribune.com/most.

1. Payne: Slurring was due to health (Aug. 25). WGN news anchor Allison Payne was not drunk on the air during a newscast on Aug. 21, as some viewers thought. Instead, she said, she sometimes slurs words when overtired, a side effect of strokes she suffered. She'll need another explanation, however, for her reported cheering for political speakers while at the Democratic National Convention.

2. Controversial columnist Jay Mariotti resigns from Chicago Sun-Times (Aug. 27). Just a couple of months after signing a big new contract with the tabloid, the press-box tough guy sticks his finger in the air again and abruptly quits his paper, saying the Web is journalism's future. It's also the place, Jay, where people comment on what you write and hold you responsible for being consistent from one week to the next.

3. 'Jewish clause' divides a family (Aug. 25). In his will, Chicago dentist Max Feinberg wanted to disinherit any descendants who married outside the faith. An Illinois appellate court ruled against such a restriction, and now the squabbling family waits to hear whether the state Supreme Court will take the case. At stake is the question of just how controlling dead rich guys get to be.

4. Roger Ebert review: Thumbs down on Jay Mariotti and his final scene (Aug. 28). In an open letter, the veteran Sun-Times movie critic calls Mariotti classless and gutless for the manner in which he quit. Also, Ebert didn't much care for his dialogue and found his acting unconvincing.

5. Popular bassinet linked to at least 2 babies' deaths (Aug. 28). After a second infant in the last year essentially hanged to death inside a bassinet made by Simplicity, federal authorities quickly asked stores to pull the mini-cribs when the company that now owns Simplicity's assets would not voluntarily recall them. Meanwhile, a new bassinet, with a safer design, can be had for about $40.